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water Watering upon transplant

OZZZ

OZZZ

Im curious how many of you completely saturate the soil with water upon transplant or only do a more "normal" watering.

I recently transplanted some superhots into 5 gallon buckets from the 1 gallon containers they were in. In the past with my indoor plants Ive always completely saturated the new growing medium when I pot up. Then I just give it a good week or even more before I water again and let the plant settle in. The idea of course is that a full watering settles the medium and wets any organic ammendments in the soil that I added as well as providing a good moisture source for the microherd to populate and start working on breaking down any granulars Ive added.

However, the peppers dont seem to like it. They really are in a different catagory when it comes to watering. Its been awhile since Ive grown peppers and I forgot how much they really like to dry out. I admit my indoor plants usually go from 1 gallons to 3 gallons.. not 1 gallon to 5 gallons like I did with these peppers so thats probably part of the problem.

Regardless, the peppers have been complaining a bit, dropping a few leaves here and there and not putting much growth out. Im pretty convinced their overwatered and Im going to start just giving them a normal watering next time when I transplant. Its been about a week and with the finger test if I get way down in there it still feels slightly damp. I am hardening them off at the moment and left them out a tad to long one day and some got slight sunburn. Nothing big but a little bit. Ive backed off on the natural sun a bit and they havent gotten any new burns so I think Im good there. They just dont seem to be growing much though.

The temps are 60's to low 70's outside during the day with good sun and probably 40's-50's at night in the garage where I put them for the night.

I suppose its probably a combination of overwatering and cool temps that are causing the no growth and little bit of leaf drop Im seeing? I would assume once they throw more roots and fill the pot better things will improve.

Any thoughts?
 
Not completely saturate with water but yes. Did you wait until the plants needed to be watered? Its also recommended to feed them a little bit as it helps the plant bounce back faster. Mix a little bit of liquid seaweed in the water when you water it after transplanting. Dont saturate the soil.
 
Plants can drop leaves due to shock, movement to a new envirement, different soil composure, compacted medium due to lack of drainage....etc.

A few things I incorporate which helps when transplanting..... place additional perlite into the mix, larger pots will hold a higher quantity of water, usually more than the roots could absorb.......saturation is the plants enemy. If using two completely mediums (soil vs peat based) I mix the two together to avoid plant shock. ...Using a root stimulator speeds up the recovery process... It's easier to remove a plant from the pot when the soils damp not soggy nor dry.... Teasing the roots apart will direct them in the right direction when potting up.....Don't let the plant get rootbound when small, that can cause a major set back...Don't be afraid to trim some of the rootball with scissors, that process usually wakes up the plant and allows for more root developement and a surge of new growth...avoid direct sunlight or intense growlighting, late afternoon or at the end of the indoor cycle is the best time to transplant....

What were we talking about.............lol

Those are just a few common practices...
 
megahot said:
Did you wait until the plants needed to be watered?
Click to expand...

Did I wait until they needed to be waterd before I transplanted? Im not sure but Im guessing not ... and thats probably part of the problem. Thats a good idea though Ill make sure to do that from now on. Especially since I tend to water in heavily upon transplant.

The soil is a 1/3 compost (of which 50% is worm castings and 50% compost), 1/3 promix, 1/3 perilite mix with granular tomato tone added so there are ferts in the soil but when I transplanted watered them in with just plain water.

I have another ACT going and have been waiting for the pots to completely dry out then Ill hit them with a liquid fish/seaweed/kelp ACT (I take my already made ACT and mix in the fish/seaweed right before watering). Im sure that will help as I know they need it .. but they are taking forever to dry out completely.

Since I went from 1 to 5 gallon then saturated the soil upon transplant it has taken way to long to dry out.

I suppose its a combination of everything. Being overwatered, going through hardening off, and cool temps. The leaf drop is mild, the sunburn is mild, some of them are midly droopy but some seem fine ... nothing serious but they dont seem to be doing much - at least above the soil surface. Who knows maybe they are throwing out lots of roots and thats where the energy is going.

PIC 1 said:
Plants can drop leaves due to shock, movement to a new envirement, different soil composure, compacted medium due to lack of drainage....etc.

A few things I incorporate which helps when transplanting..... place additional perlite into the mix, larger pots will hold a higher quantity of water, usually more than the roots could absorb.......saturation is the plants enemy. If using two completely mediums (soil vs peat based) I mix the two together to avoid plant shock. ...Using a root stimulator speeds up the recovery process... It's easier to remove a plant from the pot when the soils damp not soggy nor dry.... Teasing the roots apart will direct them in the right direction when potting up.....Don't let the plant get rootbound when small, that can cause a major set back...Don't be afraid to trim some of the rootball with scissors, that process usually wakes up the plant and allows for more root developement and a surge of new growth...avoid direct sunlight or intense growlighting, late afternoon or at the end of the indoor cycle is the best time to transplant....

What were we talking about.............lol

Those are just a few common practices...
Click to expand...


Thanks PIC .... We crossed posted. I regularly root prune my indoor plants so Im very familiar. They do respond quite well. Ive never thought to incorporate that into my transplant regimin though. Great tips I appreciate it! Now I just need to wait for these damn pots to dry out ... definately think I overwatered. Next time Im not going to water as heavily its taking way to long for the pots to dry out which is a pretty solid indicator I overwatered. Just the way Ive always done it with the other plants but I dont jump pot sizes this much either with them.
 
My normal watering IS to soak the plants. I water until it runs freely out of the pots (but not just down the sides, then water a tad more to ensure the soil is good and soaked through. So yes, I soak when I transplant. I also use a bit of starter fertilizer whenever I transplant. It reduces the shock of the transplant and stimulates root growth.
 
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